2013 Volkswagen Beetle convertible — not as retro as you might think

The temptation, of course, is to say that the new Beetle convertible is a throwback to the old Beetle convertible but that isn’t necessarily the case. The old one, particularly the one introduced around the time that Harry Truman was President, would not fare well in the current clime of safer, cozier and, well, better made cars. But Volkswagen made and sold more than 330,000 of these iconic ragtops during a period of 32 years. There was something there that appealed.

In 2003, VW introduced a 21st century version of the traditional Beetle and while it looked sort of like the old one it was definitely a modern car. The convertible version sold more than 234,000 copies, so it seems VW was on the right track – change it, but don’t change it too much.

A period-specific marketing plan

Now we have the third generation of the droptop car – the 2013 Beetle convertible – and, for some reason, VW has chosen a marketing plan that capitalizes on the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. Three different models, each corresponding to one of those decades, are offered, each its own distinctive color and upholstery scheme. I can see the Fifties (sock hops, Eisenhower, juke boxes), the Sixties (lotsa blue jeans and rock-and-roll, the Free Speech Movement, Vietnam, although I don’t think the last two came into VW’s marketing dream), but I’m not so sure about the Seventies. (These special edition cars cost a few thousand dollars more than the basic convertible, which has a starting price of $24,995. The Seventies model we tested has a sticker price of $28,595 and EPA fuel mileage figures of 21/27 mpg city/highway.)

The Fifties car has black paint and tan leather interior and wheels with that old VW hubcap look to them. The Sixties version is painted what VW calls a Denim Blue color, but looks more like just a simple plain old baby blue, with black and blue interior (possibly derived from the black and blue feeling you got after a stormy campus demonstration.) And the Seventies edition is painted a “Toffee Brown” (was that the right color for that era?) and has tan leather interior.

The most remarkable thing about the Seventies model we drove was that it isn’t the VW of old. (Full disclosure: I had a 1966 VW bug, first year of the 1300cc engine.) The VW of old, frankly, is a death trap when looked at through the modern prism: it had a flat windshield that was inches from your nose. Up front there was nothing but a spare tire and a tank full of gasoline between you and the dump truck about to crash into you.) Of course, I never had an iota of fear while zooming around in that little car and it’s only in retrospect that I think what it would have been like in a crash. So the new VW felt secure, in the sense that many modern cars make you feel safer, given all the safety widgets – air bags, side curtains, pop-up roll bars, anti-lock brakes, etc. – that are, for the most part, standard.

Three drive trains

The Beetle convertibles are being offered with three different drive train configurations – a basic 2.5-liter five-cylinder (170-horsepower) with six-speed automatic; a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline-fueled (200 horsepower) with six-speed manual or dual-clutch automatic; and a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (140 horsepower) diesel with the manual or dual-clutch automatic. Our car had the basic five-cylinder engine.

The first thing you notice when sitting in the new Beetle is that it still has that old Beetle view, looking out over that rounded hood. There’s still the same slightly claustrophobic feeling of being in a small car that doesn’t have much of a greenhouse (the view from inside, looking out) There are two back seats, but you’d have to pull the front seats up practically into the dashboard for anyone to be able to sit in the back – they’re better used for groceries. With the top up, there’s a blind spot in the left and right rear quarters, and that’s to be expected if you want to maintain the shape of the old Beetle and still have the top conform aesthetically to the rest of the car. Top up, the car is snug, so snug you almost feel as if you’re in a hardtop. The electrically-operated, thickly padded top can be raised and lowered in about 10 seconds and there’s no wrestling with latches – it battens itself down automatically and all four side windows automatically rise or lower with the top going down or up. Top down, the big surprise is that, unlike older VW convertibles, the collapsed roof does not get in the way of rearview vision.

Top down, it’s a four-wheel motorcycle

On the road, with the top down, you can easily succumb to the idea that the world is still a great, zany, fun-filled place – top down in the summer, with the air blowing around you and the sun beating down and the sounds of the outside world reminding you that you’re not in a soundproof cocoon. It’s a four-wheel motorcycle. Or bundle up and put the top down in the fall or even the winter. If the rain starts – or the snow – you can raise the top even while driving, as long as you’re going less than 31 miles an hour. One point of a convertible is to get you closer to whatever passes for nature when you’re on a wide piece of tarmac.

Keep in mind that this is not a performance car – at least not with this basic engine. It has plenty of power to do the things an urban-domiciled car is called upon to do – grocery-getting, school-children delivering – but it’s not going to break any speed records. There are other cars out there you might consider – the Mini Cooper convertible comes to mind – but in the end there’s a certain comfortable and nostalgic feel about this Beetle.